Week in Review: Arkansas’ 91st General Assembly

The Arkansas Legislature has wrapped up its final full week of the 91st General Assembly. The legislative leadership hopes to adjourn Tuesday, April 4.

On Thursday, the House voted to keep Arkansas’ hybrid Medicaid expansion program, also known as Arkansas Works, by a vote of 77-13. Currently, more than 300,000 Arkansans are enrolled in the program, which uses Medicaid funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents. The state is expected to pay $109 million of the $1.8 billion total cost of the expansion program.

The House also voted on Thursday to exempt college sporting events from a new state law that expanded guns on campus. The bill passed the House by a vote of 71-20. The Senate gave final approval by a vote of 23-7.

After three failed attempts, the House Revenue & Taxation committee approved a bill that would force online retailers to collect Arkansas sales tax. The bill requires companies without a physical presence in Arkansas that make more than $100,000 in annual sales or at least 200 transactions in the state to collect and remit sales taxes on those purchases.

Both the House and Senate are in the process of passing the proposed Revenue Stabilization Act, which sets funding priorities based on expected revenue for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The Revenue Stabilization Act outlines the $5.4 billion budget proposed for the coming year. The proposal calls for increasing state funding by $163 million.

Visit www.inveritasinfo.com for weekly recaps of the 91st General Assembly.

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